Lindy McDowell: Ulster-Scots Hillbillies may shape US politics
This week a television report about how the voters in the Appalachia region of the US could be crucial in swinging the US presidential election threw out some interesting facts. One of them dental.
The levels of poverty remain so acute in this area which touches on 13 states that many people (rednecks, hillbillies, call them what you will) cannot afford even basic dental care. The report began with a dentist (volunteer) cheerfully wending his way through the gummy horror of one local’s mouth. Nine extractions was his verdict. Reconstructive dentistry obviously is way beyond the means of most.
But the man with the Deliverance smile is one of over 20 million people who could put the bite on the big beasts of US politics come November.
According to the report that’s because, whether the poor white folks of Appalachia know it themselves or even accept it, they mostly belong to a defined ethnic group.
Source:
Lindy McDowell: Ulster-Scots Hillbillies may shape US politics
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
